Rehab Advisor

Designed to help homeowners, contractors, architects, housing authorities, development agencies, facility managers and others to improve energy efficiency in existing residences during renovation and remodeling.

In six clicks the Rehab Advisor provides recommendations for cost-effectively increasing the energy efficiency of a typical renovation project in single-family or multifamily housing. These recommendations are based on the building type, location, and specific project � and they are free.

Rehab Advisor is the simplest tool available for estimating the costs and savings of incorporating cost-effective energy efficiency improvements into remodeling projects. The user does not have to do any computer modeling or other calculations. And, unlike any other user-friendly tool, the Rehab Advisor addresses the costs and savings for multifamily housing.
Screen Shots

Validation/Testing

Expertise Required

Users

Audience

homeowners, contractors, architects, facility managers and anyone who is looking to improve energy efficiency in existing homes during renovation and remodeling

Input

Users enter the building type (single family or multifamily), role (homeowner, remodelor, contractor, etc.), climate, and age of the building to calculate how to increase energy more efficiently.

Output

The Advisor lists recommended measures and the incremental cost, savings, and payback produced by choosing the energy efficient measure compared to the minimum required by the governing code or standard. The data provided are based on computer models of typical single family and typical multifamily buildings in the climate zone.

Computer Platform

Web-based, best viewed with Internet Explorer 4.0 or later.

Programming Language

HTML

Strengths

In six clicks the Advisor provides recommendations for cost-effectively increasing the energy efficiency of a typical renovation project in single-family or multifamily housing. These recommendations are based on the building type, age, location and project � and they are free. The Advisor suggests specific actions to get the most value from a typical remodeling project. It lists recommended measures and the incremental cost, savings, and payback produced by choosing the energy efficient measure compared to the minimum required by the governing code or standard.

Weaknesses

The results should be used as a guideline or blueprint of the measures to consider. If you are conducting extensive rehab, you are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of an energy professional, including an energy audit, for more accurate cost, savings, and payback estimates.